Tournament – Chasin’ Tails Speckled Trout Challenge

January 2018 marked the end of the 10th annual Speckled Trout Challenge (hosted by Chasin’ Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle), which was a five month long competition that challenged anglers in the Atlantic Beach area to find and catch the biggest speckled trout in North Carolina. The only rules were that the angler who registered had to be the one to catch the fish, and while there were no boundaries past the state lines, the fish had to be weighed in at Chasin’ Tails.

Tommy Williams with the 8.92 lb. speckled trout that brough him first place in the annual Chasin’ Tails Speckled Trout Challenge. The winning trout brought him close to $4000 in cash and prizes.

There were 100 anglers that entered the tournament and fought for first place, but it would be Tommy Williams and his 8.92 lb. speck that won the Challenge. Williams took home $3,000 in cash, a replica of his winning fish from Dog Island Artworks, and a Star rod with a Penn Conflict reel. He also won the Live Release Prize, which netted him another $500 worth of gear.

Losing the title by just over half a pound, Dennis Cochran and his 8.33 lb. trout took second place and $1,500 cash, while the 7.83 lb. speck landed by Richard Giligan won him third place and $500 cash. Both second and third place winners also took home another $500 in prizes each, while the remaining top ten winners all walked away with prize packages as well.

In addition to Williams’ live release, four of the other top ten specks (as well as quite a few smaller fish) were also released back into the wild behind the Chasin’ Tails shop.

Overall, the event was a huge success and gave anglers a bit of excitement during the cold winter months of 2017. Matt Lamb and the Chasin’ Tails team look forward to the 11th annual Speckled Trout Challenge, which starts September 2018.